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Speaker 1: Let us pray, and the priest said, unto them, go

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Speaker 1: in peace before the Lord is your way, wherein ye go,

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Speaker 1: Judge is eighteen six, Heavenly Father. As I observe my life,

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Speaker 1: I will make sure that small compromises won't erode my

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Speaker 1: sense of what's right and wrong. I will not take

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Speaker 1: what does not belong to me, no matter how appealing

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Speaker 1: it may be for my life. Help me to discern

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Speaker 1: what is for me and what needs to exit my life.

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Speaker 1: I denounce the shackles of faithlessness that the enemy tries

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Speaker 1: to tether around me. I will fortify my faith by

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Speaker 1: making sure I keep my heart and my eyes fixed

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Speaker 1: on you, Lord, my rock and my fortress. I declare

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Speaker 1: that any false idols that I have set up in

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Speaker 1: my life, either knowing or unknowing, are being demolished and

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Speaker 1: torn from my life. Today, Holy Spirit, show me where

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Speaker 1: I am spiritually settling instead of boldly seizing the promise

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Speaker 1: and personal growth You've destined for me to have. Through

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Speaker 1: Micah's life, I can see how compromise destroys the very

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Speaker 1: thing you are trying to keep when you misalign yourself

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Speaker 1: with wrong thinking and unfruitful relationships. However, today that will

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Speaker 1: not be my story, that is not a chapter in

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Speaker 1: my book of becoming. I declare that I am idle free.

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Speaker 1: I declare that my heart is more focused than ever before,

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Speaker 1: and I declare that your face is all I will pursue.

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Speaker 1: It is not the time to shrink or settle. It's

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Speaker 1: time for me to take ground in Jesus name. Amen.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.

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Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story,

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Speaker 1: brought to you by Bible in a year dot com.

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Speaker 2: Micah, the Levite and the Tribe of Dan. In our

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Speaker 2: last story, we learned about Samson's weakness for Delilah, leading

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Speaker 2: him to reveal the secret to taking away his strength.

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Speaker 2: Samson was bound and captured by the Philistines, and they

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Speaker 2: gouged out his eyes. Samson, with one final push, with

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Speaker 2: the strength of God, toppled the Philistine temple and killed

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Speaker 2: three thousand. In this story, we learn about the dark

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Speaker 2: ages of Israel, where everybody did what was right in

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Speaker 2: their own eyes. We follow the life of Micah, a

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Speaker 2: man struggling to find peace in the tribe of Dan,

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Speaker 2: a tribes struggling to find home. Inspired by the Book

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Speaker 2: of Judges.

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Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in

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Speaker 3: the Dallas area. With today's episode of The Bible in

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Speaker 3: a Year. In yesterday's episode, we heard the tragic but

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Speaker 3: redemptive conclusion of Samson's life story. His failure wasn't final,

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Speaker 3: and God gave him another chance to finish well in victory.

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Speaker 3: His sin and his pride got the better of him.

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Speaker 3: He was captured and tortured and mocked. But in the end,

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Speaker 3: Samson made things right with God and gave himself in

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Speaker 3: a sacrifice to destroy three thousand Philistine idol worshipers in

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Speaker 3: their pagan temple. Today we'll hear is Israel once again

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Speaker 3: descends into darkness, given over to their own desires and

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Speaker 3: moral relativism, where each person did whatever was right in

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Speaker 3: their own eyes. We'll hear the story of Micah and

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Speaker 3: his moral and spiritual confusion, and we'll learn about the

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Speaker 3: tribe of Dan searched for a home, and how one

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Speaker 3: man's actions led to a whole community of idolators. It

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Speaker 3: is a story about how something small can grow into

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Speaker 3: a fire that consumes and destroys everything in its path,

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Speaker 3: and it is once again a story of God's patience

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Speaker 3: and undying love for his children. So let's listen now

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Speaker 3: to today's reading.

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Speaker 2: The state of Israel was descending into madness. All tradition, devotion,

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Speaker 2: and prayer was deluded by the worship of false gods.

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Speaker 2: All sense of right and wrong was eroded by years

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Speaker 2: of small compromise, and the Israelites found themselves in an

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Speaker 2: apathetic days. It was truly a different form of captivity.

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Speaker 2: Instead of being chained by an opposing nation, they were

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Speaker 2: shackled by their own faithlessness. During that time, there was

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Speaker 2: a man who lived in the hill country of Ephrium

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Speaker 2: named Micah. Micah was a confused but honest man. One day,

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Speaker 2: he stole one thousand, one hundred pieces of silver from

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Speaker 2: his mother. When his mother cursed the silver because it

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Speaker 2: was stolen, Micah quickly returned it. When Micah returned the

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Speaker 2: silver to his mother, she melted it down and made

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Speaker 2: a carved image. I dedicate this to the Lord and

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Speaker 2: to my son, she said. So Micah erected a shrine

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Speaker 2: for his carved image and placed it there with other

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Speaker 2: household gods. There on the hills of Israel. Micah began

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Speaker 2: to build his own little temple for false gods to

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Speaker 2: mingle with the God of Israel. Micah, impressed with his exploits,

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Speaker 2: appointed his son as priest over his household. Micah's debased

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Speaker 2: practice revealed a sickness that plagued the hearts of Israel.

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Speaker 2: Micah paid no attention to God's law to not create

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Speaker 2: any false gods. Instead, he nodded in approval at the

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Speaker 2: wonderful work he had done. Little did he know he

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Speaker 2: was creating a temp of straw waiting to be blown

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Speaker 2: away by the wind. A young man was passing through

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Speaker 2: the hill country near Micah. He was a Levite from

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Speaker 2: the family of Judah. Levites had a home for themselves,

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Speaker 2: serving God and the people of God. But this man

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Speaker 2: wanted to forge his own way and do what was

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Speaker 2: right in his own eyes. Micah spotted the young man

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Speaker 2: from Afar and brought him near. Where do you come from,

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Speaker 2: Micah asked, I am a Levite of Bethlehem. I have

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Speaker 2: come from far to find my own place and forge

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Speaker 2: my own path. The young man responded, come in and

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Speaker 2: stay with me. Awhile, Micah said, I am in need

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Speaker 2: of a priest over my shrine. I will pay you

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Speaker 2: ten pieces of silver a year, and provide you with

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Speaker 2: a home and food. The Levite agreed, and the two

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Speaker 2: of them worshiped their idols as well as the God

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Speaker 2: of Israel. Micah was convinced that having a Levite in

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Speaker 2: his home would bring him blessings from God, for in

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Speaker 2: his mind, title was all that mattered. He would be

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Speaker 2: terribly mistaken. There was no king and no judge to

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Speaker 2: rule over Israel. Each man and woman wrote their own

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Speaker 2: laws and lived by their own desires. The tribe of Dan,

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Speaker 2: instead of bravely seizing the land God had intended for them,

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Speaker 2: shrunk away and lived without a home. So they wandered

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Speaker 2: in search of an inheritance. One day, the tribe of

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Speaker 2: Dan sent out spies to scour the country and search

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Speaker 2: for land to conquer. On their travels, they stumbled upon

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Speaker 2: the house of Micah. When they saw that there was

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Speaker 2: a Levite among them. The men were curious, who brought

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Speaker 2: you here? They asked, what is your business here? Micah

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Speaker 2: has hired me as his priest, so I dwell here,

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Speaker 2: he said. The Danites perked up with curiosity. Levites were

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Speaker 2: rare and the chosen priests of God. The people of

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Speaker 2: Israel craved any sort of favor from God they could get,

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Speaker 2: for their interaction with him was few and far between.

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Speaker 2: Please ask God if we will succeed in finding land

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Speaker 2: for ourselves. The Danites requested, go in peace. The Levites said,

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Speaker 2: the Lord will watch over you. So the Danites left

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Speaker 2: with confidence. The men traveled far and came to the

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Speaker 2: land of Layish that was inhabited by the Sidonians. The

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Speaker 2: Sidonians were quiet people. They kept themselves intended to the

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Speaker 2: fields around them. Children played in the grass while their

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Speaker 2: mothers and fathers farmed and tended to their herds. The

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Speaker 2: Danites saw that the land was rich and the Sidonian

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Speaker 2: people were weak. Like a wolf licking its chops at

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Speaker 2: a helpless lamb, the Danites planned their attack. Six hundred

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Speaker 2: men from the tribe of Dan rose against the Sidonians

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Speaker 2: with weapons of war and hatred. They marched towards the

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Speaker 2: hill country and passed by the home of Micah once again.

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Speaker 2: The five men that spoke to the Levite approached the

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Speaker 2: home with their weapons. While Michael was gone, they burst

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Speaker 2: through the door and took Micah's shrine, his carved image,

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Speaker 2: and his household gods. Then they turned to the Levite.

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Speaker 2: He cowered in the corner, afraid of what they might

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Speaker 2: do to him. The five men approached him with their

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Speaker 2: swords in hand. Slowly, one of them brought his sword

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Speaker 2: to the Levite's chest and said, tell me what is better.

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Speaker 2: A sly grin arose from his face, to be a

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Speaker 2: priest to one man or to a whole tribe. It

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Speaker 2: took a moment for the levite to understand what the

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Speaker 2: man was saying, but when he did, his frown was replaced.

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Speaker 1: By a smile.

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Speaker 2: The men embraced and laughed. The levite packed his things

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Speaker 2: and left with the six hundred men, leaving Micah's home

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Speaker 2: ransacked and emptied of all its gods. Micah discovered that

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Speaker 2: his possessions had been taken, so he gathered surrounding men

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Speaker 2: to ambush the tribe of Dan. They ran towards the

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Speaker 2: six hundred men, sending the children out in front of

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Speaker 2: them so Dan not attack first, using children as a

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Speaker 2: human shield. Micah spoke with a booming voice filled with anger,

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Speaker 2: how dare you take what is mine? What is wrong

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Speaker 2: with you that you would take my gods and my priest?

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Speaker 2: He shouted. The men of Dan turned around and stared

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Speaker 2: at Micah in his small army of children and villagers.

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Speaker 2: They posed no threat to them. Shut up, they yelled,

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Speaker 2: turn around, or you will lose your life along with

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Speaker 2: the lives of your household. The people of Dan turned

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Speaker 2: their backs to him and walked away. Micah, now cooling

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Speaker 2: down from his rage, realized that he was no match

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Speaker 2: for them. Ashamed and stripped of his false sense of holiness,

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Speaker 2: Micah wandered back to his broken home alone. The sun

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Speaker 2: was setting, and the people of Dan looked upon the

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Speaker 2: land of Leyish. The city was quiet. A subtle whistle

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Speaker 2: of the wind blew through the valley. The tribe of

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Speaker 2: Dan descended down the hills into the valley. They passed

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Speaker 2: each home quickly and struck down each member of the

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Speaker 2: city with the edge of the sword. Not a scream

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Speaker 2: could be heard, for their swords swung swiftly and in

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Speaker 2: total surprise. After the men had struck down every soul

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Speaker 2: with their blades, they set the city on fire for

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Speaker 2: good measure. The flames illuminated the skies. Dan rebuilt the

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Speaker 2: city and inhabited it. They named the city Dan, and

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Speaker 2: their families thrived in their new home. They set up

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Speaker 2: the carved images they stole from Micah and set them

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Speaker 2: in the house of God. What began as small idolatry

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Speaker 2: from Micah turned into the idolatry of an entire tribe

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Speaker 2: of Israel. The entirety of Dan knelt down to the

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Speaker 2: silver image that was formed by Micah's mother, and their

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Speaker 2: descent into more madness continued. God looked upon them, still

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Speaker 2: loving and still patient. He remained waiting for a moment

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Speaker 2: to deliver his people once again.

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Speaker 3: We begin today's reading with Micah, a young man in

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Speaker 3: Ephraim and right out of the gate, our protagonist in

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Speaker 3: midst a theft. He seems to be convicted by his

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Speaker 3: own conscience when he hears his mother curse the silver

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Speaker 3: that was stolen, so he tells his mother that he

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Speaker 3: had stolen it and gives it back to her. Micah's

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Speaker 3: mother then melts some of the silver and has it

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Speaker 3: turned into a graved image, an idol, which she dedicates

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Speaker 3: to God and her son. Micah in turn, places the

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Speaker 3: image in a shrine in his house, filled with other

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Speaker 3: religious symbols and household gods. Clearly, the culture of Israel

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Speaker 3: has gone off the rails. Micah and his mother give

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Speaker 3: us a picture of this syncretism, a blending of different religions,

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Speaker 3: the dedication of things to God that do not worship

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Speaker 3: him and him alone. It is a picture of the

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Speaker 3: culture all around them. And we then hear these words

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Speaker 3: in Judges seventeen six. In those days there was no

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Speaker 3: king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his

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Speaker 3: own eyes. There perhaps no more dangerous words for a

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Speaker 3: society than that last sentence. Everyone did what was right

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Speaker 3: in his own eyes. That is a recipe for a disaster.

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Speaker 3: This is a recipe for judgment. That is where Israel

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Speaker 3: finds itself, looking not to God for governance and guidance

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Speaker 3: or morality, but to whatever seemed right to every person.

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Speaker 3: It was moral relativism. With his newly erected shrine, Micah

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Speaker 3: searches for a way to legitimize his worship, and a

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Speaker 3: traveling levite seems to be just the answer. Micah assumes

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Speaker 3: that this man of a priestly lenage has the right

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Speaker 3: title to bring him the blessings of God. Together, Micah

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Speaker 3: and his priests engage in idolatry, clearly violating God's law.

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Speaker 3: But as we've already seen, established, Israel wasn't looking up

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Speaker 3: for guidance or government. They were looking around and looking

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Speaker 3: to themselves. We then meet the tribe of Dead, a

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Speaker 3: tribe living without a home because they lacked the courage

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Speaker 3: to seize the land God had given them. They wandered

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Speaker 3: around looking for land to take as their inheritance, and

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Speaker 3: when they came upon Micah's household, they met the Levite

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Speaker 3: priests and sought the lord's favor from him. The priest

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Speaker 3: told them to go in peace, that God would watch

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Speaker 3: over them. This filled them with boldness, and they left

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Speaker 3: in search of land. They traveled far away and found

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Speaker 3: the land that they could easily take. And as they

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Speaker 3: marched out toward the conquest, they passed by Micah's home,

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Speaker 3: entered it, and stole the carved image of Silver and

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Speaker 3: the other gods. And then they called the Levite priest

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Speaker 3: to join them. He gladly left for what he thought

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Speaker 3: was greener pastures. When Micah discovered the theft, he assembled

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Speaker 3: an army to take back what was his, but his

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Speaker 3: efforts were futile. He was no match for the Danites,

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Speaker 3: who marched on into the land they wanted, killed its inhabitants,

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Speaker 3: and burned the city. They rebuilt the city built the

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Speaker 3: House of God, but filled it with other gods, including

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Speaker 3: Micah's silver idol. How crazy does this seem that these

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Speaker 3: people were fighting over false gods and carved images. It's

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Speaker 3: a tragedy. God's people have sinned and strayed so far

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Speaker 3: from him that he was considered just another among all

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Speaker 3: these false gods. Let's pray together. Lord. We know the

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Speaker 3: dangers of moral relativism and any faith that looks to

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Speaker 3: anyone else but you. We know that we are to

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Speaker 3: guard our hearts, O God, and not build idols in

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Speaker 3: our hearts or worship anything or anyone but you. Lord.

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Speaker 3: We thank you for your son, Jesus Christ, who is

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Speaker 3: the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And we know

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Speaker 3: according to John fourteen six, that no one comes to you,

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Speaker 3: Oh God, the Father, except through Jesus, and we pray

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Speaker 3: in his name. Amen. Thank you really listening today to

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Speaker 3: the Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas,

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Speaker 3: pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church. Download Theprey dot com app

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Speaker 3: and make prayer a priority in your life. And if

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Speaker 3: you enjoy this podcast, share it with others people that

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Speaker 3: you love and care about. People who want to know

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Speaker 3: the Bible help them understand the Bible as well. This

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Speaker 3: podcast can make a huge difference in someone's life. If

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Speaker 3: you want more resources on how to tap into the

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Speaker 3: power of Jesus Christ in your life, then be sure

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Speaker 3: to visit Jack Graham dot org.